A proposed daycare center to open inside the Oak Park Arms senior living community would offer senior residents the opportunity to volunteer with children inside the classrooms.

A proposed daycare center to open inside the Oak Park Arms senior living community would offer senior residents the opportunity to volunteer with children inside the classrooms. (Steve Schering/Pioneer Press)

A new preschool in Oak Park hopes to bring together the village’s youngest and most senior residents through volunteer opportunities by operating inside an existing senior living facility.

The operators of Kindness Creations Intergenerational Preschool have received village approval to operate their new business within the Oak Park Arms independent and assisted living retirement community at 408 S. Oak Park Ave.

According to the application, the daycare will provide opportunities for younger and older generations to interact through planned activities housed inside Oak Park Arms, with the daycare center able to accommodate up to 40 children per half-day session, Monday through Friday.

“A lot of [these businesses] are Lutheran church-based, so there’s not many public ones,” applicant Jaime Moran said. “We would be certified through the Department of Children and Family Services and would report to them. We are in charge of the educational and safety needs. [The seniors] would come in to volunteer with the children.”

Moran and co-owner Pamela Lawrence said the arrangement would benefit the mental health of seniors living at Oak Park Arms and provide additional social/emotional wellness for the children. They expect about five seniors at a time would be inside the classrooms with the children.

While trustees unanimously approved the special-use permit on Nov. 19, some expressed concerns for the health of the children and seniors.

“I thought it was a great idea,” Oak Park Trustee Jim Taglia said. “I support the idea, but I am concerned about some of the impacts from the standpoint of the health of the children as well as the adults.”

According to Moran, the business will ensure each enrolled child is up to date on their vaccinations and flu shots, and said Kindness Creations will have a “sick plan” in place should an attendee fall ill.

“We have a sick plan, just like any public school, where if you have symptoms, the child cannot come back for 24 hours,” Moran said. “If there is an outbreak somehow in Oak Park Arms, we would also close down and not have the kids there. That would be in our handbook telling the parents ahead of time.”

Some asked how the senior volunteers would be screened prior to interacting with the children, with Moran saying that work is already underway with Oak Park Arms staff.

“They already started making sure every senior has a background check,” Moran said. “We will work on who can come down.”

According to the proposal, Kindness Creations will lease two classroom spaces within Oak Park Arms, and pick-up and drop-off would take place off the street within the building’s parking lot.

“Safety-wise, the door where the kids come in would be locked,” Lawrence said. “There would be a bell in our room to [alert us] when kids are picked up. Nobody can come in or out unless we’re letting them in or out.”

The village’s zoning board of appeals unanimously recommended approval of the application in October, and several village trustees also announced their support for the proposal.

“I think this concept is really fantastic,” Trustee Deno Andrews said. “I think the transgenerational nature of this program is really unique to our country and the state. I applaud you guys for bringing the concept here. I really wish you the best of luck, and I think it can be something transformative not only for the kids, but the seniors of Oak Park Arms.”